Representative Gutierrez, who traveled the country this past year on the United Families tour, knows first-hand how our currently broken immigration system is harming families and communities. In his piece at the Huffington Post, he drives home the urgency of the need for reform and explains why this issue is at the crux of who we are as a nation.

In twenty-four cities across the country, we heard from families who were being ripped apart by the current system. We’ve heard stories from a father dying from cancer whose wife faced deportation. We’ve heard from American citizen children who are faced with choosing between their parents and a college education.

This is a crisis. It’s a crisis of human and civil rights, it’s a crisis of our economy and our workforce, and it’s a crisis of national security. This is why we cannot wait any longer. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (CIR ASAP) Act of 2009 is a solution that we, as a nation of immigrants, can be proud of.